London couple who accidently took the WRONG Ryanair flight home from Marseille only realising when they were almost in MADRID say they ‘have no idea how it happened’ – but did joke before boarding they ‘should continue their holiday in Spain’
- Elisa Mallia, 33, and Jessy Jezequel, 41, were flying from Marseille to Stansted
- Instead the couple from Fulham, west London, found themselves in Madrid
- They claim they ‘have no idea’ how they managed to go through the wrong gate
- Ryanair say the pair then boarded alternative flights to get back home to the UK
A pair of UK holidaymakers had a madcap adventure as they flew home from a trip to Marseille to watch the football.
Elisa Mallia, 33, and Jessy Jezequel, 41, say they expected to get off their return flight to the tame landscape of Stansted Airport’s runway.
Instead, the duo found themselves stepping into the sunshine of Madrid surrounded by a throng of tourists getting ready for a siesta.
It was only shortly before the plane made its descent into the Spanish capital on the afternoon of Monday, March 21, that the pair say they realised their error, The Mirror reports.
After a fraught interval at Madrid Airport, the couple were able to get a flight home to Britain – arriving five hours later than planned.
Estate agent Miss Mallia said she couldn’t figure out how they had managed to pull off their mistake, as their boarding passes were ‘scanned three times’ before getting on the plane.
Estate agent Elisa Mallia, 33, from Fulham, says she has ‘no idea’ how she and partner Jessy Jezequel ended up in Madrid instead of Stansted Airport after a trip to Marseille
Mr Jezequel (pictured) and Miss Mallia said they realised they might be headed in the wrong direction after noticing the cabin crew were speaking Spanish
It eventually dawned on them that they were heading in the wrong direction after noticing all of the flight attendants were speaking Spanish, she said.
‘We were baffled and so were the flight attendants,’ Miss Mallia added.
‘We got home in the end, but we still have no idea how it happened.
‘It’s not like getting the wrong bus – we literally ended up in a different country!’
The couple said that as they left Marseille, they headed to what they thought was the correct gate at the airport – even though Miss Mallia thought she saw ‘Madrid’ signposted on the gate next to them.
She even joked to her partner that perhaps they should carry on their holiday in Spain, apparently not realising how fateful her words would be.
After ‘panicking’ and speaking with Ryanair staff in Madrid – who they claim thought they were ‘crazy’ – the couple showed their boarding passes and were at last believed.
They eventually made it home to Fulham in west London, albeit five hours later than intended.
A map shows the route the couple should have taken (in orange) alongside their erroneous trip to Spain (in red)
After the couple explained their error, Ryanair says the pair were accommodated on alternative flights home to Fulham – five hours later than planned
A spokesperson for Ryanair said: ‘Mr Jezequel and Ms Mallia boarded their flight from Marseille to London Stansted through the correct gate.
‘However, these passengers then failed to follow the allocated route to the aircraft departing for London Stansted, crossed an unauthorised area and wrongly boarded a flight departing to Madrid.
‘Both passengers were able to occupy the same seats they had booked for their original flight, as this flight was not fully booked, thus not alerting them to their error at this time.
‘An announcement advising passengers of their final destination and estimated time of arrival is made before every flight departure – which should have alerted Mr Jezequel and Ms Mallia that they were on the wrong aircraft.
‘Upon arriving at Madrid Airport, these passengers then realised their error and Ryanair staff were notified of these misrouted passengers. Mr Jezequel and Ms Mallia were accommodated on a flight from Madrid to London Stansted later that day.
‘It is each passenger’s responsibility to ensure they board the correct aircraft.’
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